The ‘Perfect’ Family

December 5^th 2007

“Chloe? Chloe? Wake up!”

“Chloe? Chloe?” Nurse Atherton is shaking me, enthusiasm in her voice. Today I am finally free.  

 I must have been in a deep sleep. I wakened in a puddle of my own sweat.  Attractive, right? Silly Lilly sprinted into my ‘bedroom’, if it fits that description. Her beautiful red hair in plaits, wearing her white, discoloured Paddington Bear nightie that she loves more than everything in the world. Lil goes loopy if anyone steals it from her, well loopier than she already is. Lil has the mentality of a twelve year old girl, even though she is a 27 year old grown woman. She also has severe anxiety. Some of the other girls bully her because of the way she is. Of course, the biggest tyrant is Angie, who is ugly on the outside and the inside. I try to see the best in everybody but it is impossible to see any decency in her. She does awful things to people for her own personal gain, always testing Nurse Atherton’s limits. In May last year, she chopped Lil’s pigtails off and it broke her heart. Nurse Atherton had to comfort Lilly to sleep for two weeks and her anxiety increased. Lilly understands me, and believes in me. Nurse Atherton constantly says that we are ‘two peas in a pod’. However, I do not fully understand Lil because I am not f*****g crazy.

My name is Chloe Jane Addison and on the 4^th of December, 1997 I was submitted to the California institute of Mental Health for murdering my father, David Addison, when I was fifteen years old. He was brutally stabbed nine times all over his body, including through his heart. Obviously I did not do it. Dad was my world. I pleaded not guilty, but I did not have an alibi. After a year of court dates, meetings with lawyers and misery, they decided that I was crazy and put me in this awful, depressing and draining place for ten whole years.

 

“Are you excited ugly? Ah you better sort out that mess on your head before you leave!!” Lilly shouted, and then uttered a childlike giggle.

“Hell yeah!” I responded.

            I can see my family again, rather than just a visit every month. Oscar and I can be brother and sister again. Mom and I can have a amazing bond like Mia Thermopolis and her mom have in The Princess Diaries, Lil and I love that movie. I can finally prove that I did not murder my father; I know I can do it with self-belief and determination. I will do anything for justice, not just for myself, but for my father because his beautiful soul deserves to be avenged.

            It is time to get dressed, with Nurse Atherton’s help. She understands that I do not want to leave looking like the monster they portrayed me to be. Silly Lilly has let me borrow one of her pretty, floral dresses. I love wearing dresses; they make me feel like a woman. Nurse Atherton curls my hair for me, as nobody is allowed electrical items in here. I do not mind because I like spending time with Nurse Atherton. She is a very strong woman, but she will not admit to anyone how old she is. She looks like she is only in her mid-30s as her skin is always glowing like the sunshine. Nurse Atherton has seen a lot in this building, and has helped the other girls with their mental health issues. In my eyes, she is a legend for keeping Lil sane most days. However, awful Angie tests Nurse Atherton’s patience a lot. Last year, after the pigtail incident, Angie aggressively attacked her, claiming she favoured Lil to her. In my ten years spent here, I have honestly never saw Nurse Atherton show any favouritism at all. She does not hold a grudge against Angie either, showing how professional and tough she is.

            I am ready by 12 noon. “Well don’t you look beautiful?” Nurse Atherton compliments me with a proud gaze in her eyes. Mom is coming to the nuthouse to take me home at 12:30. It is starting to sink in, I know this is going to be the longest half an hour of my life. I have butterflies in my stomach at the thought of leaving Lil here and having to deal with Angie by herself. I do not think it has dawned on her that I am going to be leaving her because she is excited for me. That just makes me feel emptier and guiltier for leaving. No. This is my time for justice.

            12:15. My palms are sweating. Sat on the sofa between Lilly and Nurse Atherton feels slightly ironic because I know that they are not going to be by my side any longer.

            12:30. This is it. Nurse Atherton leaves the room to greet Mom and Oscar. I know that they are going to be a while because she has to interview Mom, and they have to sign a lot of forms. She told me the full process a week ago but I did not understand half of it.

I am left on the sofa with Lil. She squeezes my hand to the point where it starts to hurt, but I am not going to stop her. Tears are flooding down her pretty face. 

“Ah you’re gonna be fine Lil!” I reassure her.

“I promise I’ll call you every day and come visit you”.

I can tell she is trying to put on a brave face for me but she is so bad at hiding it. I hear the door open and Lilly’s face just drops.

“Mommy!” I yell and run to give my mother a hug.

She looks stunning, as always. Her long blonde hair is so shiny, and her makeup is flawless.

“Hi gorgeous, it’s time to go home”. I have waited and dreamt ten whole years to hear my mother say that. They reduced me to tears of happiness. Then I realise something. My baby brother is absent. Oh s**t! He still thinks I murdered my father. I do not want to ask Mom because I know it will be a difficult question for her, that she does not want to answer, so I put on a brave face. I was good at that.

            It is time for final goodbyes. My butterflies are worse now because of the whole mixture of emotions. I look at Lilly and Nurse Atherton in the eye and say

“Thank you both for everything,  um, you both have a special place in my heart”. Nurse Atherton started to cry.

“Good luck with everything, Chloe” she replied.

Time for final hugs. After everything I have been through, this is honestly the greatest but toughest thing I have ever had to do.

            I am finally free. Mom and I walk outside. The cold, crisp air feels so fresh on my pale skin. The smell of beautiful nature fires up my nostrils and I can hear the sweet sound of birds and bugs in the trees. I take everything in, and feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Even though it is winter, the sun is shining. The sun is always shining in California. I am ready for the long drive with Mom back to Missouri, home.

 

December 12^th 2007

I have settled in at home really well but I feel like Mom is being weird and false. I feel like she is not being fully honest with me and I have no idea why. However, this week has been perfect, just spending time with her. We went to the movies to see Juno. We used to go to the movies every week as a family before I went to the nuthouse. Mom and I also went shopping, and I bought some fashionable and vintage dresses of my own. I was taking one step at a time, and did not want to interact with many people. Apart from Oscar. Why is Mom so sure I am innocent and why is Oscar so sure I am guilty? It makes me anxious, but not communicating with my brother makes me want to prove myself a lot more. I am going to set myself a goal. I am going to find out who murdered my father before Christmas so that I have my family back by then.

 

 

 

December 13^th 2007

I do not want to tell Mom my plan because I do not want to bring back those awful memories for her and she seems frosty lately. Today is her first day back at work, after our week together, so it is the perfect day to start.

            I wake up at 9am. Mom will be an hour into her lengthy day at work. I drag myself out of bed and open my cream blinds. It is a very miserable day. Staring at the grey, dark and dull skies has made me feel the icy winter. It still feels odd waking up in my own house because every day, I still expect to be woken up by Lilly or Nurse Atherton. Nevertheless, I am sleeping so much better at home because there are no screams in the middle of the night. I grab my dressing gown, walk downstairs and make a coffee. I sit at the dining table with an old notepad and pen. This is it. It is time to remember what I have tried to block out of my mind for ten years.

            I can remember it was a Friday night. I went to Sarah Green’s house party. She was such a b***h; she used to continually call me fat and ugly in front of everyone. It was because of her why I felt so sorry for Lil at the madhouse, because Sarah reminded me of awful Angie without the mental health condition. Yesterday, Mom said that she is now really fat and really ugly, which made me laugh. Karma’s a b***h, Green. She used to make me feel so insecure about myself. Why was I even friends with her? Her party was the first time I drank alcohol, and the last. I can remember the cops asking my whereabouts the day after it happened.

“Where were you last night?”

“Um… Sarah Green’s house party” I answered. I was afraid to tell them I had been drinking, but in these circumstances, honesty is the best policy.

“Were you drinking alcohol?”

“Yes… um” I nervously stated.

“Underage drinking is illegal, you do know that don’t you? I will be speaking to Sarah about this!” They interrupted.

I knew Sarah would have loathed me even more for telling the cops she had a party, but I was that distraught about my father I did not care one bit. Hold on, how could the cops say that I did not have an alibi? That is my alibi. Oh my God! Sarah Green must have said I did not attend her party. F*****g b***h. She couldn’t have done it, could she? Surely not, but I have the first suspect in my investigation.

            I continue to think about that night. The delicious and warm coffee heated and comforted my body instantly, and increased my awareness. Who was in the house? Mom and Dad went out for dinner and called the babysitter for Oscar. When they returned home, he was stabbed. I was drunk when I found my Dad, but of course, I remember him lying there with a knife stabbed through his tender heart, I can never get that callas image out of my mind. It gives me shivers right through to my spine. Maybe it was the babysitter. ‘What was she called?’ I thought to myself. I remember her amazing figure and full lips, she was what I aspired to look like as a woman. Jenny Taylor. I figure that going to visit Jenny would be a good idea because she is a possible suspect. I wonder if my Mom is still friends with her.

            I search the kitchen drawer that I found the notepad and pen in, helplessly for address books, contact details or business cards. There is nothing there. I figure they might be in Mom’s room so I run upstairs and stupidly trip on my way up.

“Clumsy b***h” I say to myself.

I enter Mom’s room and search through her small chest of drawers. I come across an old address book. The pages are yellow with coffee stains, and it smells like those old books you get from the library from 1000 years ago. I notice that it was in alphabetical order, so I scan for the letter ‘T’ and my heart stops beating. Jenny Taylor’s name, number and address have a big black like through it. I can still make out her address, but it is a mystery why Mom looks like she wants to delete her from her life. There is a word above Jenny’s name in Mom’s writing: ‘traitor’. So many different scenarios are going through my mind of what could have happened for Mom to write that. It must have been when I was in the nuthouse. I carefully copy her address into my notepad and rip out the page.

            That night, I lie in my warm and comfortable bed. I can hear the wind outside. It is so strong, I feel like my windows are about to cave in. My mind is going crazy about what I saw today. I have to go to Jenny’s house, don’t I? She might not even live there anymore but it is definitely worth a try. What if she thinks I am a monster for killing my father? What if she is a monster for hurting Mom?

 

December 17^h 2007

I wake up at 8am. I feel bad for lying to Mom about my daily activities when she asks me over dinner, but what I am doing will help the whole family. I am sure of it. I dreamt about Dad taking me and Oscar to Ben and Jerry’s for strawberry ice cream. I cannot remember much of it but there were lots of love and heaps of laughter. We used to do that every Saturday in summer and the thought of not being able to have moments like that again has made me cry. I tasted my salty tears.

“Snap out of it Chloe!” I think to myself.

“Today you have to be stronger than ever”. I am trying to convince myself that I am ready to go to Jenny Taylor’s house. I have spent three whole days debating, and with only a week until Christmas, today is the day. I figured that I would be friendly with Jenny, for Dad’s sake, but not too friendly because she was disloyal to Mom.

            It is a very miserable winter’s day, like it has been all week. I decide to wear one of my new vintage dresses, plain black tights and Mom’s leather jacket. I comb my auburn hair and brush my pearly whites, put a little eyeliner on my blue eyes and red lipstick on my lips. I feel like I look acceptable, without trying too hard. I check the pockets in the jacket for Jenny’s address. I think I know where I am going; Mom and I passed it on the way to the cinema. Her house is only two blocks down, about a 10 minute walk. It is time to leave.

            I lock the door, zip my jacket up to the top and walk quickly, almost breaking into a jog to stay warm. For a second I forgot where I was going. I walk at a slower pace and practice in my head what I am going to say: “Hi Jenny, it’s Chloe from ten years ago. Did you kill my father?” This is bizarre. I will just say who I am and see if she remembers me.

            I have found her street. For some reason I do not feel any nerves, I feel like it is destiny I am here. This is what Dad definitely would have wanted. I unzip my pocket, and double check that it is number 9. Her house is very average, semi-detached, red brick and unpretentious. However, her garden is tremendously tidy, not one piece of grass out of place. I walk up the footpath across her garden and I can hear a hoover getting louder as I approach her white, wooden front door. I think I will wait until she is finished hoovering before I ring the doorbell. It feels like forever, and she must be more obsessed with cleaning than Mom. It certainly smelt clean, like her house is made of cleaning products. The hoovering stopped. My pale, index finger is shaking as I lift it to the doorbell and press it. Maybe I am nervous, or the freezing weather is making me shiver.

The door suddenly swings open; I feel startled because I did not hear her footsteps or the handle click.

“Good morning!” She greets me with a soft tone in her voice and a big smile on her face. Jenny was as gorgeous as I remembered, not one blonde hair, piece of clothing or makeup on her face was out of place. She has aged exquisitely. However, she smells like perfume a cheap prostitute would wear. It reminded me of something Angie would wear.

“Hi, my name is Chloe Addison. You used to babysit my brother Oscar, and I when we were kids”. I inform her. She unexpectedly stopped smiling, and froze.

“I wondered if you could help me…Um” I continue. She leans out the door, snatches my hand and gazes swiftly up and down her street. These actions make me stop talking.

“Ah why don’t you come in?” She demands rather than asks, then almost pulls my arm off dragging me into her house. This makes me very suspicious.

“Have a seat”. I sit on her cream, clean and cosy chair. I have a look around her home. I can tell she does not have a lot of money, but she has spent it wisely. I decide that I am going to be completely honest with her because I do not have time for mind games. Hopefully she will respect that.

“You obviously must know I have been put in a madhouse for ten years, for killing my Dad but you have to believe me” I pleaded with her. “I didn’t do it. And everyone thinks I’m a monster. Especially Oscar. I know you were there that night and was wondering if you knew absolutely anything that could prove my innocence. It means so much to me”. My whole body is starting to sweat, heating up rapidly. I feel like tears are about to pour from my eyes. Even I could hear the desperation in my voice. I have got myself worked up and I just burst into tears. Once again, I taste my salty tears.

“Calm down” she says, while standing up and offering me a box of white tissues.

“I know it wasn’t you. I do want to help, but can’t because I’ll lose everything” she said.

“What will you lose? Do you know who did it? Was it you?” This is so intense. I just want to shake the truth out of her.

“It wasn’t me! Ah I’ll lose everything I own if I tell you. If I tell you it’ll break your heart”. Her eyes pop out of her head, as if she wants to shut herself up. I do not think she realises that this information she is giving to me makes me want to break her.

“What do you mean you will lose everything?!” I yell at her.

“Look, you need to go. I’ve already told you too much”. She states. I am not leaving.

“You’re covering for someone, aren’t you? If you want to help me, then tell me what you know. Please.” I pleaded once again.

“It’s not that simple!” she shouted.

“I won’t tell anyone. Um… I just need peace of mind and to know the truth, for Dad”. I lie. I have to because I must know.

“I cannot tell you because your Mom pays for this house and if she goes to jail I will lose it!” She shrieked. Jenny abruptly put her hands over her mouth and tears stream down her face, ruining her perfect makeup. She was not supposed to tell me that.

“What? Why would Mom go to jail? Um wait a minute”. I feel like someone has taken a knife and stabbed it through my gut.

“Do you think she killed Dad? Is that who you are covering for? I don’t believe you!” I screamed back at her.

“Good. You need to go”. She stated. I get up, run for the door and sprint all the way home. I am still sweating, having heart palpitations. This cannot be true. Mom has to be a suspect in my case. Do I ask Mom about this? Do I just disregard what Jenny said? Where on earth do I go from here? I am going to go and visit Sarah Green tomorrow and see if she will be any help. I know that she will be the last person to shield me from the truth.

            8 pm. I am lying in bed, overthinking everything. I told Mom that I am feeling nauseous so I do not have to have dinner with her. No lie, I do feel sick. I cannot face her until I know the truth. I doubt Jenny will call Mom and tell her what happened today because she may lose the house.

 

December 18^th 2007

“CHLOE! CHLOE! WAKE UP NOW!” Mom is screaming and shaking me.

“Ah I need to talk to you right now!” She yelled at the top of her voice. Her eyes were wide and blood red; her hair looks like she has been ripping it out. She looks like a psycho.

“Um… What Mom?” I ask her, in a tired and croaky voice. I see she has the leather jacket and Jenny’s address in her hands. ‘Oh God’ I think to myself and suddenly leap up.

“Did you go and visit Jenny Taylor? Do not lie to me”. She asks desperately.

“Eh… Yes” I reply timidly. I am too honest for my own good.

“Do not ever do that again!” She states, then walks out of my room and slams the door. I jump out of bed and run after her, swinging the door open.

“Why?” I yell down the stairs, following her.

“Because she was f*****g your Dad 10 years ago. That is why”. She screams back, her eyes redder than blood. I feel like my whole body is trembling. Like I am going to throw up all of my insides. That is my Mom’s motive. Dad was stabbed through the heart. She must have done it. My whole world has definitely fallen apart now.

Reviews

[Valkyrie Warrior]

Wow what a stunning story!! Totally going in my favourites!!!

[Tks]

Hi there! Welcome to Writer's Cafe! This was definitely a real thriller of a story, and your use of the time was quite good, as it kept me reading and anticipating more. Could we have more of such pieces soon? Hope to see you around in Writer's Cafe!